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Do you ever spend any time thinking about all of the people who are
responsible for helping you make it through the day? Or are you one of
those people who actually think you have made it on your own? See if the
following little story improves your memory.
Charles Plumb was a United
States
Navy jet pilot in Vietnam.
After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a missile and after
parachuting to safety he was captured and spent six years in a communist
prison. He survived the ordeal and went on a lecture tour providing
audiences with insight into the lessons he learned from his experience.
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at
another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters
in Vietnam
from the aircraft carrier
.
You were shot down!”
“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.
“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. “I guess it worked!”
Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude as he shook the man’s hand,
“It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here
today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about the man. He said, “I
kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white
hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times
I might have seen him and not even said Good morning, how are you? or
anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a
sailor.”
Plumb thought of how many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden
table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding
the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of
someone he didn’t know.
From that day on, Plumb always asked his audiences, “Who’s packing
your parachute?”
Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the
day. Plumb pointed out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his
plan was shot down over enemy territory. He needed his physical parachute;
his mental parachute; his emotional parachute; and his spiritual
parachute. He called on all of these supports before reaching safety.
It’s easy to miss what is really important as we go through the daily
challenges of life. We get so caught up in surviving that we forget about
the people who have provided us with the support in order to get through
those challenges. In our hurry to get on with life we may fail to say
hello, please, thank you, congratulate someone else on an accomplishment,
give a compliment or just do something nice for someone we love. Yet, when
you think of it, where would you be if they hadn’t packed your
parachute?
Take a few moments to reflect upon the parachutes you use during the day.
The girl who gives you your morning coffee at the drive through; the
person who ploughs the road so that you can get to work; the cleaning lady
who empties your garbage at night and vacuums your office; the mechanic
who works on your automobile; the police officer who enforces the speed
limit on the highway; the internet provider who makes sure your email
arrives on time; your spouse who is always there to listen to your
problems; your child’s coach who has made the arrangements for the game
or practice so that you could concentrate on other things; the grocery
store which remains open late at night so that you can get those things
you forgot. Think about all of the things you did today which would have
been impossible or much more difficult were it not for the help or
assistance of someone else. Did you thank them for what they did? Did you
show your appreciation?
TEACHERS
PACK A LOT OF PARACHUTES EVERY DAY Now,
in your role as a teacher, how many parachutes did you pack today? Did you make it easier for someone else to meet life’s
challenges?
Remember, as well as using parachutes, we must also provide
parachutes for the people who come into our life.
And as teachers, we have a tremendous responsibility to pack the
parachutes of all of the children who are placed in our care. Further
more, it is not just the children we teach within our own wall that we are
packing for. What about the children you saw on bus duty this morning? Did
you give them a proper greeting, or did you treat them just as if they
were faceless bodies climbing down the steps of the bus? What about the
children in the hallway? Did you acknowledge them or did you just walk on
by as if they never existed?
As teachers we must never forget that children are constantly
watching us. Most of our teaching is done by example. When the children
who crossed your path today need to use the parachute you packed for them
today, will it work? |
